


Just the Icing on the Cake

by totallyrhettro



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Baking, Finger Sucking, First Crush, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Happy endings guaranteed, M/M, Teen Crush, Teenagers, Wrestling, friends to boyfriends, rhink, teen rhink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-20 20:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17029602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyrhettro/pseuds/totallyrhettro
Summary: Rhett helps Link make some cupcakes.Rhett and Link are 17 and 16, respectively, and are currently both single.





	Just the Icing on the Cake

Link Neal couldn’t believe he had been roped into baking for his step-sister’s upcoming party. No doubt it was a feeble attempt by his mother to force the two of them to get along but Link was determined to keep it from working. Still, things weren’t all bad; at least he managed to convince his best friend, Rhett McLaughlin, to help with the baking.

“Cupcakes?” the taller boy was mumbling as they stepped to the Neal’s kitchen. “I don’t know how to make cupcakes.” Neither did Link but he figured it couldn’t be too difficult.

“Mom showed me the recipe in her cookbook,” he retorted, holding up the red-checkered book. “It doesn’t look _that_ hard.” He thought that the two of them, with step by step directions, could easily figure out how to make some simple cakey treats.

Sue, Link’s mother, had been kind enough to purchase all the supplies that the teenage boys would need to make the delicious sweets. With Rhett’s help, Link soon had all the ingredients, bowls, and utensils for the project laid out on the kitchen counter. Holding the cookbook to the appropriate page, the 16 year old brunet began to call out the list so they could make sure they had everything, each item quickly followed by the blond boy’s voice calling out ‘check’. Then, nose deep between the pages, Link set about measuring each ingredient while Rhett simply watched from the sidelines and getting more bored by the minute.

Eventually Link had each and every ingredient measured out perfectly into little bowls scattered about the counter. Quite pleased with his handy work, he laid the book out so both he and Rhett could read it and placed one of the larger bowls in front of him. In there he would pour all of the wet ingredients one at a time. He turned to his friend.

“You wanna pour or mix?” he asked. Rhett rolled his eyes. When Link had told him about this project, it sounded kinda fun. Eating food was one of his favorite activities. He assumed making food could be fun, too, especially with Link. However, so far, it had been complete and utter dullsville. Shrugging noncommittally, he just let Link decide which he’d prefer. Link sighed. “Okay… How ‘bout you just read off the ingredients and I’ll put them in?”

Together the two boys finished mixing about half the ingredients before Rhett became totally bored. He leaned against the counter, while Link read on to the next part, not really paying attention. Checking around for anything that might relieve him of his boredom, he spied a can of icing that was sitting out, just waiting for the cupcakes to be baked and ready for frosting. His face lit up and his stomach rumbled. Sneaking one last peek towards Link, making sure he wasn’t looking, Rhett snatched up the small can and peeled open the plastic lid. 

It didn’t take long for Link to notice Rhett with his hand basically inside the can of icing. He looked over and glared at his tall friend, but it made no difference. When Rhett didn’t stop, Link walked over to grab the icing away. Rhett nimbly dodged.

“Come on,” Link pleaded. “Stop fooling around.” He reached again but Rhett used his greater height against the shorter boy, lifting the icing above his head and far out of reach. “We need that for the cupcakes!”

“There’ll be enough,” Rhett retorted, sneaking another dollop. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re _always_ hungry,” Link argued. With a sigh he gave up on simply taking the can away and resorted to grabbing at Rhett instead. It started with a slight pinch, a minor shove, but within moments it became a full on brawl. The boys had wrestled many times in the past and each was well acquainted with the other’s moves. Link’s anger quickly faded in the tussle, actually laughing out loud at his friend’s attempts to thwart him. Rhett was down an arm for defense, as he deftly held the tasty substance out of his friend’s grasp, but while he had size on his side Link had agility and guile.

The fight soon flipped on its head with Link actually able take the can away. Instead of putting it aside so they could back to work, he dunked his own finger fully inside to scoop out a snack of his own. Finger encrusted with icing, Link dancing away, hoping to enjoy his sugary prize before Rhett could catch him. But Rhett was fast. He leaped forward, trying to keep Link from tasting his victory. In his lunge he more smacked into his friend than grabbed him, and the two of them tumbled to the linoleum floor together.

Rhett landed on top of Link, pinning him easily to the floor, with a hand holding down each of the shorter boy’s wrists. Using his weight to hold down his friend, Rhett’s eyes didn’t waver from their gaze on Link’s finger and the icing still on the top. Chuckling, knowing his triumph was near, he leaning forward and took the whole finger into his mouth.

Link’s heart caught in his throat and he stopped struggling immediately. He could barely breathe let alone fight against Rhett’s assault. He could feel the warmth of Rhett’s mouth, the way his tongue undulated against Link’s skin as he swallowed. Then, heart pounding in his chest, Link watched as Rhett slowly removed the finger, pursing his lips so as to take every last drop of icing from Link’s finger. He moaned softly from delight then chuckled, pleased with his hard-earned achievement.

But Link wasn’t laughing.

He could remember many times when his best friend had pulled the ‘I’m dead’ move and laid on top of him only to remain motionless until Link finally relented, but this was different. Face to face Link found himself staring into Rhett’s eyes as if he had never seen them before. Being many inches shorter than Rhett, Link rarely got this close to those eyes, or to Rhett’s face in general... or his mouth. He found himself dwelling on how Rhett’s mouth felt around his finger. He never realized how Rhett’s mouth could feel so...

“You ready to admit defeat?” Rhett’s taunt shook Link from his thoughts and he blinked as he snapped back to reality. Rhett seemed completely unfazed by their close encounter, only thinking about how he had defeated Link in their scuffle. Swallowing hard, Link tried his best to portray a believable smile and forced a sarcastic laugh.

“Yeah, yeah,” he offered, playing the beaten yet ungracious opponent. “You win, okay? Now get off me.” Almost immediately Rhett moved to let up his friend and for the tiniest of seconds Link’s body felt cold without the taller boy’s warmth. In that tiny second Link wished Rhett hadn’t gotten up, but he pushed away the thought before it could settle permanently into his mind. Instead he rolled to his side, pushed himself off from the floor and stood up to face the kitchen counter once again. 

“You okay, bud?” Rhett asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He usually didn’t notice when Link was feeling uncomfortable. Normally he was fairly oblivious to his friend’s emotions when they weren’t stellar. It wasn’t that he was unfeeling himself but he was never one to be overly observant. Now, however, he was looking right at Link as if he was trying to read his mind. It made Link slightly nervous and it wasn’t a sensation he was used to. Rhett had been his best friend since first grade, the guy he could talk to about anything, trusted with everything, but now… now just standing next to him in this kitchen was making tingles run up Link’s spine and goosebumps spread along his arms. 

“I’m fine,” he managed, despite his unease. He cleared his throat and picked up the mixing spoon. “If you’re done screwing around, maybe we can finish this?” Rhett regarded Link for a few moments, then seemed to let the whole subject drop. He grabbed the cookbook from where it had fallen in the confusion and placed it back on the counter. Turning to the page where they left off he reached for the next ingredient.

Within a few minutes they were back on track and the whole incident seemed entirely forgotten. Mostly, anyway. Link couldn’t shake the feeling that Rhett seemed to be standing just a little bit closer than earlier, making more excuses for their hands to bump into each other and as they continued working, little things like that just kept happening. Link told himself it was nothing, that Rhett was just finally taking this project seriously. 

They finished adding all the wet ingredients and mixing them together into a fine, buttery paste. It smelled absolutely delicious and Link was hopeful that it would bake into some delectable cupcakes. Moving on to the dry ingredients he had a little bit more trouble; spraying himself with flour as he tried to mix it. His clothes were dusted with the fine white powder which, of course, Rhett found hilarious.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, trying the electric mixer again. Luckily he didn’t get any on his face. Well, not very much anyway. Feeling somewhat apologetic for laughing, Rhett brushed off the flour from his friend’s shirt before inspecting his face.

“You got some on your face,” he noted, pointing. Still annoyed by his own klutziness, Link brushed his chin with the back of his hand, actually getting most of the flour off. Rhett smirked, seeing some was stiff left. He pointed at his own mouth to demonstrate. “You missed a spot,” he snickered. “On your lip. Just here.”

Link ran his tongue along his bottom lip without thinking, trying to find the illusive powder but missing entirely. Suddenly Rhett reached out, taking Link’s jaw tenderly in his hand. Rhett inspected Link’s mouth with eyes that had never looked so green nor so intense. He ran the pad of his thumb gingerly across Link’s lip, cleaning it of the offending flour, and causing his friend’s face to flush pink. Then their eyes met.

The air practically radiated electricity and time slowed down to a mere crawl. They only held their shared gaze for the briefest of moments but it felt like an eternity. Link couldn’t read Rhett’s face; he could barely understand the myriad of thoughts running through his own mind. Through his confusion he vainly tried to understand the world around him as he struggled to fathom his situation; his emotions and Rhett’s.

Rhett’s fingertips, rough but delicate, trembled against Link’s skin. His palm rested perfectly along the shorter boy’s jawline, as if it was expertly crafted to lay there, nestling Link’s face warmly in his large hand. His forest green eyes bore into Link’s cerulean blue, staring beyond the conflicted expression on his friend’s face, his slightly parted lips and flushed skin, deep into his very soul. Like Link, Rhett was searching for an answer to a question he didn’t yet know how to ask, for a sign telling him what to do, what Link _wanted_ him to do.

The moment passed like a wild shiver, running down Link’s spine and dwindling away into the ether. Rhett pulled his hand away, clearing his throat and he turned back to the mixing bowl, with a strange embarrassed grimace. It wasn’t until Rhett had pulled away that Link felt he could breathe again, think again; he looked upon his friend with new eyes and a wonderful but terrifying new viewpoint. Was there more than friendship between them? Could there be? Did he want more from this lanky boy beside him? Did _Rhett_ want more? Link wasn’t sure but he knew he couldn’t just come right out and ask.

While they moved on to the last part of mixing, where they put the wet and dry ingredients together at last, Link mulled over his choices. Part of him wanted to say nothing, to let the extraordinary events between him and Rhett fade away and be forgotten. It would be the easiest choice but somehow, just thinking about it made his stomach churn. The next option was to just come out and ask, to bridge the gap between them but that terrified him even more. No, it had to be Rhett. Link couldn’t risk their precious friendship on what may be a rogue fancy or adolescent crush-

The word echoed in Link’s brain. _Crush_. Was that what this was? He glanced over at Rhett who was setting the oven to the proper preheating temperature. Link had always felt his tall friend meant more to him than most other people. There had always been a strong brotherly love between them, that he would never deny, but was there more? He had to know. He had to ask, but at the same time he had to let Rhett make the first move. 

The baking pan filled with unbaked cupcakes slid into the oven, the oven door slammed shut, and the two boys leaned with their backs against the counter to rest. Link started cleaning up as Rhett started looking for something else to eat. Picking up the can of icing to put it away, Link had a sudden thought. Biting his lip he opened it quietly and dunked in his finger one last time. Then he turned towards Rhett.

“Want one last taste before I put this away?” he asked, a bit more coy than he might have been any other day. He held out the can, offering it to his friend, but his icing-encrusted pointer finger wasn’t far away. Pointing generally up, the finger might have just been casually nearby, nothing intended, nothing implied, but it was also an invitation. Link tilted his head and wiggled both his finger and the can. It was a covert way of giving Rhett a choice. He could take the can, proving that all of this had been in Link’s head and nothing more, and they would move on as if nothing had happened. Just friends, that’s all.

He could also be more daring, taking Link’s offering of the finger and showing that he wanted more than just a tasty treat. That he had enjoyed their unconventional interaction and wanted to experience it again. It was up to Rhett to decide and Link would be happy to live with either outcome. Rhett paused, his eyes subtly shifting between the can and Link’s finger. He was confused, at first, then a light shone in his eyes as everything became clear; the choice became unmistakable. He looked at the can. He looked at Link’s finger. He looked at Link’s face.

Then he chose.

Ignoring both the can and the finger, Rhett stepped in close and fast, taking Link’s face between his hands and meeting Link’s lips with his own. Air rushed into Link’s lungs as he realized what was happening and he dropped the can of icing in shock. His eyes were wide open but Rhett’s were squeezed tight, as if he was scared he was making the biggest mistake of his life.

Forgetting about the icing still on his finger, Link reached out and placed his hands on Rhett’s sides, holding him close, letting him know he was safe, that everything was alright, that he wanted this, too. He felt the taller boy relax in his arms and they melded together into a deeply sensitive embrace. The kiss softened, melting into a slow and comfortable caress. Link thought it should have been awkward, but despite never kissing a boy before, it felt familiar. Somehow it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

When they each finally pulled away, neither really wanting to, but both needing to desperately breathe, there was a moment of catching their breaths and checking to see if the universe had ended from their kiss. Looking around it seemed as though everything was the same, yet everything had changed and for the better. Both boys were blushing now, small smirks mirrored on their faces as they suddenly broke into quiet but excited laughter. Rhett brushed aside a hair that had fallen out of place on his head in his animated lurch at Link.

“Sorry,” he began, not sure where else to start. Link didn’t see a reason for any apology; he wanted this. Clearly they both did. Looking down at Rhett’s shirt, he saw a smudge of icing, left there during their intense make out session. He gave a short chuckle and pointed it out to his friend.

“Sorry about your shirt,” he retorted. Rhett looked down, pulling up the bottom of his t-shirt to better inspect the white, sugary blemish. With a shrug he turned back to Link.

“No big deal,” he commented with a shrug. “It’s just icing.” Then he added with a grin: “I love icing.”

****

**The End**


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